Delaware man arrested for robbery, accused of multiple shoplifting in Wilmington

WILMINGTON, Del. — Delaware State Police arrested Garrett Hitchens, a 34-year-old Wilmington resident, on charges of robbery and theft-related offenses following a seven-month string of shoplifting incidents in Prices Corner area, according to authorities.

Hitchens is accused of stealing merchandise from several local businesses, including Acme, Bath & Body Works, Target and Walgreens, between April 25 and October 25, 2024. In total, the thefts amounted to more than $5,600 in goods, the police said. Each incident appears to have involved a similar pattern, with a white male suspect taking household items and fleeing without payment.

One of the shoplifting incidents escalated to an Aug. 17 robbery at Acme on Centerville Road, where Hitchens allegedly threatened an employee, saying he would kill them while making off with stolen goods. That threat led investigators to reclassify the incident as a robbery, raising the severity of the charges against him.

After identifying Hitchens as a suspect through investigative efforts, troopers obtained warrants for his arrest and attempted to locate him. On October 28, at approximately 7:32 p.m., a trooper on patrol in the Prices Corner area recognized Hitchens coming out of the Acme store. Acquainted with Hitchens from previous cases, the officer approached him in the parking lot and took him into custody without incident.

After his arrest, Hitchens was transported to a local hospital for an unrelated medical condition described as life-threatening. Once medically cleared, he was arraigned at Magistrates Court 11 on multiple charges, including robbery and 21 counts of shoplifting.

Hitchens was later booked into the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, where he is being held on a $15,002 secured bond.